


Of Caracals, Kings, and Surprises

by ChestnutBrumby



Series: Sweet Dreams - Scarlet Vision ficlets [21]
Category: Captain America (Movies), MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Story, Angst, F/M, Future Fic, Other, Wakandan Nature, Wanda is a bit lost without Vis isn't she
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 19:15:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7857760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChestnutBrumby/pseuds/ChestnutBrumby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wanda and T'Challa bond over their lost loves and missed opportunities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Caracals, Kings, and Surprises

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate reunion fic. Just an imagining of a potential scene from Black Panther/Infinity War, and is not fully in sync with the other Wakanda-set fics I've written over the course of Sweet Dreams.

Wanda was entranced by the scene before her. She stretched out slowly behind her hiding spot, a thick, fragrent shrub, careful not to make any sudden movements. The mother feline, crouched in front of her den, twitched one dark ear in her direction, but like many animals in Wakanda she had no direct fear of humans. So long as Wanda remained quiet and at her present distance, the cat remained calm. She turned her head and chirruped softly, and Wanda held her breath as a tiny, fuzzy  ball on paws tumbled from the den. It was the same russet-gold shade as its mother, the distinctive black and white lines around its muzzle and eyes repeated in miniature. A second cub followed the first, but Wanda got a surprise when the third and final youngster made an appearance. It was a smoky black colour, just lighter than the pitch black of its oversized ears. It kept up with it's tawny siblings well enough, and the cubs batted at one another's short tails as they trailed after their mother.    
  
The feline parent lay down and let the cubs tumble all over her, charming Wanda completely with their antics. She was so entranced she never heard the near-silent footfalls behind her.  
  
She jumped when the figure sank down beside her, though he kept a respectful distance between them. "You have a deep understanding of wildlife." Observed T'Challa, and Wanda didn't need to peek into his thoughts to sense the approval.  
  
"Caracals are my favourite cat." She replied in an undertone, ever cautious of disturbing the mother. "I'm surprised by the black cub. To my knowledge there's only been two or three recorded in the wild and zoos alike."    
   
He lifted an eyebrow, impressed at he knowledge of colour mutations in a breed of big cat not many people would even know the name of. "Melanistic animals are far more common here, Miss Maximoff." Though their accents were vastly different, hearing her name spoken with formality reminded her of Vision and their early days together.  
   
"Just Wanda." She murmured, blinking back tears all of a sudden, furious with herself for letting them creep up on her. T'Challa eyed her closely for a moment, then seemed to realize himself and glanced away, affording her privacy.  
  
Since arriving here, although he had trained several times with Steve's team, Wanda hadn't gotten to know T'Challa well. There was a distance and aloofness to him that Wanda associated with the leopard he derived his alter-ego from. Leopards were largely solitary, renowned for their cunning as natural predators, and one of the most proficient hunters known. But though she never went looking in T'Challa's mind, Wanda often sensed exceptionally powerful undercurrents to him. T'Challa might not have worn his heart on his sleeve like Steve, or chatter about anything and everything like Scott, but she suspected that his emotions ran very deep.  
  
"Who taught you about Africa's lesser-known animals, Wanda?"  
  
"David Attenborough." She replied, startling a grin out of him. The way his white teeth contrasted against his skin brought a memory to surface in her mind for the second time. She bit her lip, twisting her rings around her fingers in an unconscious habit, and looked away. "I first began to learn English as a little girl because I wanted to understand what he was saying in his nature documentaries." She recalled. "Pietro learned with me and made it into a competition, who could memorize the most new words in one day."  
  
Damn. Must have been nostalgia day. T'Challa didn't pressure her though, and they watched the feline family in silence until the mother rose, herded the babies back inside the den, then padded silently off into the trees. Just before she vanished, Wanda saw her head turn and her green-gold eyes stare right towards their hiding place, then she was gone.  
  
Wanda straightened up, stretching the kinks out of her arms and legs.  She held out her hand, offering to help him up. He smiled, though there was nothing mocking in the expression, accepted her hand and rose gracefully while putting little pressure on her. "Your land is amazing. You're very lucky, T'Challa."  
  
He didn't answer for a moment, eyes distant. "My entire life, my father prepared me to take his place upon the throne. I feel as if I ought to be ready, yet... I look out upon all of this-" He waved his hand at the forest as they began walking, heading back to the palace. "-and I see his land, not mine."  
  
"Did you ever think about - I am not sure what the word is in English. Turning down ruling?"  
  
"Well, our monarchy is not like other countries, I believe." T'Challa told her speculatively. "If I had wished not to take on the mantle of the crown, I would have had to renounce my entire heritage. I would no longer be able to claim my family as my own blood, so I knew it was never an option."  
  
"That's right, you have a sister and a brother, correct?"  
  
"Correct, to an extent. Shuri is my half sister - she will return to Wakanda soon, and looks forward to meeting you all. I actually have two brothers, a half brother, Jakarra, and our adoptive brother, Hunter. Our uncle, S'Yan, is still alive, and tries to keep us in line. As best such a thing is possible."  
  
It was easy to see the affection on T'Challa's face when he spoke of his family - especially his sister. Wanda didn't need to read his mind to understand that he was as devoted to them as he was his country. They had reached the palace now, but instead of heading back inside to take on any of the thousand and one things a Wakanda ruler had to deal with, he sat on one of the carved outdoor benches, and Wanda sat beside him.  
  
"There was one time..." Surprised to see a slightly dreamy haze overlay the laserlike intensity of T'Challa's features, Wanda studied him carefully after he trailed off.

  
"That you thought about declining the throne?"  
  
"Yes. There was a girl..." He trailed off again and Wanda tried to put him at ease with a grin. "Isn't there always a girl?" She teased.  
  
"Indeed. But _this_ girl - ah." A fond smile tugged T'Challa's lips. "To this day I wonder how she fares. I always thought she would accomplish great things."    
  
Wanda settled back more comfortably against the curved chair back. "You don't speak of her often." It was an observsation, not a question, and T'Challa's smile grew slightly sad. "No, I do not." He agreed.  
  
"I can tell she meant a lot to you. I've... learned recently that keeping your strongest feelings guarded, while it may feel a natural defense mechanism, is usually a mistake. So, if you do need an impartial ear..."     
  
The readiness with which he began speaking let her know she'd said the right thing, and she was pleased she'd been able to reach him.  
  
"It Wakandan tradition, our rite of passage is to roam outside of our borders, to see the world beyond. I was a young man, more idealistic and perhaps less jaded than I have become now. I met a girl - an orphan, Ororo Monroe, who had grown up vastly different to I, scavenging and stealing on the streets."     
  
The name sounded vaguely familiar to Wanda, though she couldn't clue it in from where. Given her powers and abilities she often had a sense of deja vu when hearing a name, although she couldn't shake the feeling this wasn't one of those times.  
  
"When we parted after the first day, I watched her walk away... and I told myself you ought to marry this woman."  
  
Though he smiled as he said it, Wanda knew there was a very real regret behind the seemingly joking words. She wondered exactly what type of woman Ororo Monroe was to have stolen the stoic, well-guarded heart of King T'Challa.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"A great theft of vibranium from my father's mines. He called me back, and it was time for me to go home. Ororo, too - she needed to find a place she could call home. I think she has, now, after all her years of struggling."    
  
"Do you ever wish things were different?"  
  
"I have a duty to my country... friendships to define. My place in the world to recognize. And yet... yes, I think of her often. I wonder what my country might be like now if she were at my side."  
  
He fell silent for a time, then changed the topic, with a sly, sideways glance at her.    
  
"Do you ever take your own advice, Wanda? Who is it you see when you gaze beyond the horizon?"  
  
There was something inherently trustworthy in T'Challa that made Wanda want to answer honestly - and because she trusted her instincts about people, even after all the mistakes she had made, she did so.  
  
"When we split from Tony's team..." Wanda swallowed and looked away. "I left behind my closest friend in the world. After my brother died in Sokovia-" Another swallow, trying to clear the burning lump in her throat as tears threatened. She could feel T'Challa's dark eyes on her, and she knew if she looked she would find them full of compassion and empathy.  
  
"After that, I had a hard time adjusting. Actually, that's an understatement. I couldn't eat, or leave my room, I wasn't aware of time passing, it was all just a haze. Pietro was so reckless, always tackling everything at top speed- he would have said he was the one to protect me but in truth I always felt I was protecting him, pulling him back from the ledge before he could fall. There was a part of me that thought, one day he would go a step to far and that I would rescue him, give my life saving his. But when that day came..."  
  
"He was too quick for you."  
  
"I had never imagined the possibility of it being the other way around. He didn't die for me - he saved Clint and a Sokovian boy. I always knew  he was a hero, even if he never admitted it, even to himself - I always knew.  
Afterwards, I felt as if I had been living for him. Without Pietro, I had to find my own reasons. When the others pulled me out of my depression, they decided I was meant to teach Vision about people, how we functioned and went about day to day life."  
  
Wanda pictured Vision's guileless blue eyes, the way his head inclined fractionally to one side when he listened to her, and the way his ridiculous questions would make her laugh. As he gained greater understanding he would continue to ask her things to purposefully make her laugh, even if very few people understood his particular brand of humour.  
   
"But once again, it backfired on me." She admitted to T'Challa, unaware the tiniest of smiles lingered around her lips as she thought back on her early days with Vision. "Through his eyes, I saw the world as it was. The beauty in things." She nodded towards the caracal's den. "I found hope again. Vision gave me that. Even after he no longer needed me, and I was functioning properly again, somehow we still spent as much time as ever together. I didn't admit it to myself when I began to suspect I was developing feelings deeper than friendship for him. Vision... he's so pure, so good. So few people see him like I do, but I know what he'll accomplish someday."  
  
Wanda closed her eyes, feeling the same wash of fear and longing the first time she suspected she might just be in love with Vision. "I wasn't ready to love anybody after loosing Pietro. I suspected Vision felt the same way about me as I did about him, and I was scared of that. He would love with no restraints, with all his heart. He deserves somebody who isn't afraid to love him back. He's worthy of so much... and so I never told him. I just let things keep going the way we always had, but there were a few times when we'd be talking, or out exploring, and he would look at me... but I left it too late. Now we're apart I see that all too clearly now."  
  
Wanda trailed off, opened her eyes and sniffled, wiping a few tears. "Urgh. I'm a mess."  
  
T'Challa offered her an obviously clean, neatly pressed handkerchief from a pocket. It was such an old-fashioned thing to do Wanda was startled into a laugh, but she accepted it.  
  
"Don't be sorry, Wanda." T'Challa preempted her next words. "Regret is something I understand absolutely."  
  
She quickly scrubbed the tears off her cheeks. "Tell me something - if you met Ororo again today, what would you say to her?"  
  
T'Challa didn't hesitate. "I would tell her I hoped she would find the man I have become worthy of her affection."  
  
"I think she would."  
  
They shared a smile, T'Challa the first to rise. "Well, I thank you for the talk, Wanda, but pressing yet far less interesting engagements await me."  
  
"Have fun." Wanda waved and headed inside, feeling pleasantly tired after spending the afternoon outdoors. She was glad she'd had a proper chance to get to know T'Challa, and there was a relief in speaking her mind about Vision to somebody who listened and understood as well as he did.     
  
  
In the following nine days, though T'Challa was largely kept occupied with running his country, he and Wanda found opportunities to chat with one another. Wanda enjoyed hearing about the time he'd spent with Ororo, and being a more personal topic it afforded her a glance into the true nature of the stoic protector and leader of Wakanda. She made up her mind if she ever encountered one Ororo Monroe, she'd advise the other woman that T'Challa was not a man who gave his heart away lightly. All these years after he'd first met Ororo, and he was still head over heels.  
  
Her tales in return usually featured Vision, and by proxy the rest of the team, which T'Challa told her helped him understand and feel closer to his new teammates. She felt better for opening up and being honest about her feelings. She'd been hesitant to speak to Steve given how close he was to the matter of the split, Clint had his own problems being parted from his family and best friend, and upon Sam (dear patient Sam) she already unloaded her childhood and the trauma of what she and Pietro had gone through with HYDRA. She couldn't stand to throw yet another problem at him.      
  
It was shortly after sunrise of the ninth day when Wanda received a call from her barely-touched Wakanda cellphone, from the king himself.  
"You had best come to the small courtyard by the left guardhouse. I have a surprise waiting."  
  
She had pretty much expected it to be some form of fearless African wildlife paying the palace a visit, so when she heard human voices it froze her near the top of the stairs leading down to the courtyard.  
  
She knew that voice. Hearing it here, in the balmy Wakandan air, it sounded somehow richer and more amplified, as if somebody had tapped the sound directly into her nerve endings. It brought with it a flood of memory and emotion so strong she was amazed she stayed on her feet.   
  
Vision.        
  
"Mr Stark, I can assure you, I have no intentions of doing anything rash." There was a rude-sounding snort in response to this careful statement. "Well, time will tell I suppose. I'm going to go see if Rogers feels more like talking or more like punching my teeth out. Wish me luck."  
  
"Good luck, sir." Came the dutiful reply.  
  
Wanda crested the top of the stairs. Tony's dark head and perpetually well-tailored suit was just disappearing inside, but Vision remained. The bright colour of his skin seemed just a shade muted, and there was a slight slump to the formerly square set of his shoulders - but she couldn't help the joy that bubbled up inside her at the sight of him.  
  
He still found her mind as easily as he always had - for though his back was to her, and she was still frozen and soundless at the top of the stairs, he sensed her and turned. His eyes grew wider as he took her in, and his lips parted, though no sound emerged.  
  
But the solid wave of his dizzying happiness, outright excitement, and profound relief at seeing her washed through her mind, and her muscles unlocked and she called a nickname she hadn't spoken in far too long with joyous abandon. "Vis!"  
   
She took the steps down two at a time as his whole face lit up, though he wasted no time in striding towards the base of the stairs. He reached the bottom and she leaped clear down the final four steps and into the arms he extended to her.  
  
"Wanda." He caught her and breathed her name reverently into her hair as he hugged her, tightly enough that her bones creaked in happy protest. Being in his embrace again was indescribable in its familiarity. "Oh Wanda, I've missed you." His arms were so secure around her she would have been content if he never let her go again. "I missed you too, Vision. It's so good to see you."  
  
She pulled back just enough that she could look at him, fingers curving behind his head. She felt the jolt of tension that went through him then, could have sworn that his hands shook slightly.  
  
"Vis, I wanted to find some perfect moment for you, but you've always been perfect enough for any moment."  
  
He was shaking. His hands were pressed flat against her, one at the small of her back, one at the top of her spine with his thumb resting along her neck, as if he wanted to inch his grip up into her hair. Both hands were trembling. He was looking at her with a precise sort of expression she'd never seen him use before, but the mixture of trust in his eyes and hope on his lips and the sheer magnetism of his face made her think it might be longing.  
  
"I thought about you all the time we've been apart, and the thing I thought most of doing was this."  
  
She guided his head down to hers, stretched onto her tiptoes, and touched her lips to his. All the tension in him vanished as he sighed against her mouth, mirroring her grip on him as his hand cupped her cheek. As Vision kissed her back he was shy, tentative, but very, very eager to learn, a tiny jolt of surprise going through him when her tongue swiped lightly at his lips, which he parted for her.     
  
Since only one of them technically had to come up for air, the kiss went on for what felt to both of them for a very, very long time.    
  
 

**Author's Note:**

> Of course the Marvel/Fox movie licenses issues do not exist in the world of fanfiction and hence the X-Men known as Storm is fully able to be referenced. We can dream - and well we do. 
> 
> I wrote this thinking about how Wanda and T'Challa might form a bond (Not a romantic bond, you guys know by now I'm strictly Scarlet Vision with no side excursions) but as teammates and family. She's already close to Steve and Clint; and even Sam; it's difficult to imagine anybody not liking Scott; and I have plenty of ideas, mostly expanded on in other fanfics, about how she and Bucky bond. T'Challa was the difficult one, but at length I'm happy with how this one turned out. 
> 
> This, interestingly, was basically my first idea about what happened when Wanda and Vision reunited, months ago now - that evolved into the he-saves-her, she-saves-him deal that occurred in 'If you need us' and 'Fall in love too easily' but this shorter, more simplified version clearly wouldn't leave me alone. 
> 
> Hanging out until Monday when I can pick up my very own copy of Civil War - Wednesday is the official release date here in Australia, but here's a pro tip: most big retailers get their stock in on the Monday and put them straight up for sale then. See how grownup I'm being, NOT calling in a sick day just because my favourite movie is being released on DVD?


End file.
